i'm jim cramer, and i will see you tomorrow! this morning on "early today," unfriendly skies. the faa investigates two separate instances of loose seats on american airlines flights. political showdown. president obama and mitt romney hunker down for their high stakes debate in denver. and bumpy ride. a 10-year-old philadelphia boy is arrested after swiping and crashing a van. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with air scare. suspicion is swirling around american airlines after two flights in three days were returned to new york's jfk airport. the reason, passenger seats came loose on both planes.

the first incident occurred on a flight from miami to boston. >> during climb out, passenger seats row 12d, e and f came loose out of the floor. passengers are unable to sit in that seat. >> the federal aviation administration says seating in both planes had recently undergone maintenance. the airline has grounded eight 757s for inspection. republicans are hoping the first of three presidential debates tomorrow night will be a game-changer for mitt romney. right now he trails the president in every battleground state. a new quinnipiac poll out this morning shows president obama has an 18 point lead over romney among women. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington with more on all this. brian, good morning.

>> reporter: for both campaigns this first debate is filled can challenge and opportunity. as denver gets ready for tomorrow night's first presidential debate, so are the candidates. >> it'll be a conversation with the american people that will span almost an entire month. we'll get to describe our respective views. >> reporter: romney is hoping to pick up a few votes with an endorsement from football great john elway. president obama is taking the personal approach to nail down support. >> this is barack obama. >> reporter: and like romney, the president sees this debate as a chance to talk to america. >> it's a choice between two different paths for this country. it's a choice between two fundamentally different visions for our nation. >> reporter: the president has a lead in all nine of the key battleground states, including ohio, which begins early balloting today. >> romney's task is difficult because he has to redefine himself as well as redefining the election. >> reporter: an election only 35

days away but still far from over. and the first debate is on the domestic issues that are defining this election. lynn? brian moore in washington. brian, thanks. well, elsewhere, the candidates for the u.s. senate seat in massachusetts, scott brown and elizabeth warren, debated for the second time last night. the two were combative as they staked out opposite positions on issues ranging from creating jobs to bringing troops home from afghanistan. with nbc's david gregory of "meet the press" as moderator, they also clashed over brown's claim of partisan independence. >> if he's re-elected, that increases the odds that the republicans will control the senate and that he can block president obama's agenda. >> if you're going to comment on my record, i would at least have you refer to it -- >> can we just -- >> excuse me. excuse me. we're not -- >> go ahead, senator. >> excuse me. i'm not a student in your classroom. please let me respond, okay? thank you.

>> well, recent polls before the debate showed elizabeth warren with a small lead over scott brown. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. joyriding may land one philadelphia child in jail. police are preparing to charge the 10-year-old with auto theft. surveillance video shows the young driver crashing the stolen van right into parked cars there. he did attempt to escape but was stopped by a witness and held until police arrived. approximately 30 amtrak passengers suffered injuries when a big rig collided with a locomotive in california. the crash caused three cars to derail and pinned the truck driver inside his vehicle. according to officials, the semi drove past the rail crossing into the train. investigators have not determined why the driver did not stop. well, four men in mississippi battled the monster and lived to tell a tale. it's almost unbelievable when

you look at it. the hunters captured a 40 foot long alligator that weighs 697 pounds. once they hooked the animal, it took them two hours to get it close enough for the fatal gunshot. the catch is the largest in state history. and finally, fried foods usually get all the press at texas state fairs, but not on monday. you can see why. chefs used 635 bags of frito corn chips, 635 cans of hormel chilli and then lots top it off with cheese, to make the world's largest frito chili pie. tasty. now for a look ot your weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> i would need a gallon of ice cream to balance the salt and the sweet. if i have doritos, i have to

have ice cream to chase it down. it neutralizes. it all evens out. good morning everyone. another big storm heading up the island chain for alaska. it's going to bring rain. a little too much snow with this system, only in the highest elevations and further inland. it's the time of year we get these big storms up here. another one is rolling through. we'll look at the rain increase as we go throughout the morning hours. eventually will work its way towards anchorage. a lot of the moisture will remain down towards the coast. doesn't look like juneau will have any problems. 50 degrees and sunny is nice tore this time of year. what happened on the west coast of the united states yesterday? one of the warmest october days in southern california. 95 officially in l.a. vegas at 98. we had numerous locations near 100. it was very warm in san francisco, 91 degrees. the pink shading in here just outside of sacramento to the north there all in the 100-degree range.

today a little cooler but still similar. we haven't had a big change of air mass. if anything, we have a little more of the onshore flow. areas closer to the coast will stay cool. if you're inland in california, a very hot day today, along with all your friends in arizona. this front will eventually try to sink down through the northern rockies and will bring much cooler air in the days ahead. seattle will get a little taste of that today with a temperature of 60 degrees. you notice we're warm from l.a. to vegas and even the inner mountain shortly. 97 in sacramento and red bluff near 99. today should be just like yesterday. it looks to stay very warm in the west. but it won't be quite as hot as we go throughout the rest of the week. thanks so much. coming up, manufacturing

grows, a salmonella scare spreads. a dream liner lands somewhere under rainbow. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus why taylor swift is calling out former flame john mayer. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. if the u.s. goes over the so-called fiscal cliff in january, it will cost almost 90% of americans more in taxes for a total of $536 billion. taxes for a typical middle income family making 40 to $64,000 a year could go up by $2,000. in california, governor jerry brown signed a bill that would allow half a million young illegal immigrants who qualify for the new federal work permit program to obtain driver's licenses. near hong kong at least 36

people were killed when a boat filled with holiday party goers collide d with a ferry and sank. it is the deadliest accident there in years. police say six crew members have been arrested. in canada fireballs rose from a warehouse housing highly explosive racing car fuel. scores of home had to be evacuated. no injuries and so far no word on what caused the fire. the white house is lit up in pink to mark ok as breast cancer awareness month. new york's empire state building is also bathed in pink light. even buckingham palace in london has gone pink to support the campaign. here san early look on how wall street will kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,515 after adding 77 points yesterday. the s&p was up three, but the nasdaq lost two. taking a look overseas trading

this morning, in tokyo the nikkei fell ten points while in hong kong the hang seng was closed again for a holiday. well, stocks ended mostly in the black monday thanks to a glimmer of economic optimism. news that manufacturing growth broke a four-month roadblock sparked an upbeat mood on the street. fed chief ben bernanke renewed the central bank's pledge to keep record low interest rates to spur the economy even after if regains momentum. analysts say winter holiday shopping will rise 4.1% this year. that's slightly lower than predictions for the past two years. jpmorgan chase is the first target of the justice department investigation into the financial crisis. a civil lawsuit alleges bear stearns, bought by jpmorgan in a fire sale, carried out billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities fraud. american express has agreed to pay $112.5 million to settle federal charges of illegal late fees.

the multi-billion dollar fraud carried out by bernard madoff began as far back as the early 1970s. this is according to a rewritten indictment bringing new charges against four long-time madoff employees. a trader joe's peanut butter recall linked to cases of salmonella has now spread to nut butter recalls at multiple national chains including whole foods, target and stop & shop. honda is recalling 600,000 accords that may have a faulty power steering hose that can leak fluid and cause a fire. congratulations to yahoo's marissa mayer. the new ceo and her husband welcomed their first child, a baby boy. and in seattle, look at that. a watery welcome cast a rainbow for the arrival of the first boeing 787 dreamliner to land as part of an all nippon airways new daily commercial service from tokyo. coming up, the tigers

clinch, the yanks come out swinging, and the cowboys get picked bear. plus, champagne showers in our nation's capital. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. well, the big news in the forecast world is that cold air is coming down from canada and maybe even some snow in the northern plains. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, the seemingly even-matched chicago bears and dallas cowboys faced off under the monday night spotlight, except the dallas cowboys offense was no match for the chicago defense. dallas quarterback tony romo threw five interceptions, two were returned for touchdowns. first in the second quarter on a pass intended for dez bryant. that's picked by charles tillman and returned for 6 and again in the third just after dallas forced a chicago fumble, romo gives the ball right back to lance briggs who returns it 74 yards for the touchdown. bears won it 34-18. all right. on to baseball, the yankees crushed the red sox 10-2. four yankee homers including a two-run bomb by returning first baseman mark teixeira capped off

a nine-run second inning. and with an orioles loss to the rays, the yanks took a one-game lead in the a.l. east. in kansas city detroit's miguel cabrera had four hits including a homer during a five-run sixth inning to help the tigers beat the royals 6-3 and claim the a.l. central title. and, finally, that's the spirit, despite losing to the phillies last night, the nationals still had reason to celebrate after a loss by the second place atlanta braves secured the club's first ever n.l. east crown. well, coming up, who's hosting the oscars and who's still the queen when it comes to highest paid women. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, some pet owners will go to almost any length to pamper their pooch, and we've got the video to prove it. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." we talked about the rain heading into the coastal areas of alaska and the big storm moving through the west coast. we'd love some rain. it's been an amazingly dry period. in portland, oregon, august and september the two driest months you've ever had, less than a half inch in two months combined, about a quarter inch. no rain today either. boise, very warm.

93 in l.a. very warm in interior california. we knock the temperatures down a couple degrees tomorrow. once again, we'd love a weather pattern change in the west. won't have any any time soon. if you're watching us in yakima, washington, take a trip back in time and explore unique animals that roamed the yakima valley at the museum. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. well, apparently the kristen stewart cheating scandal hasn't damaged robert pattinson's stock. the "twilight" star has been named world's sexiest man in the glamour u.k. poll for the fourth straight year. all right. seth mcfarland, the man behind "family guy" and the movie "ted" will host the next oscar ceremony. he joked he hopes organizers don't find out he also hosted the charlie sheen roast.

>> i think the audience will be very nervous. well, adele can add bond girl to her resume. she's going to debut the theme to the latest bond film "skyfall" this friday at 007 london time. >> she got her voices back. >> she came back a while ago though. 37-year-old drew barrymore who got married in june has given birth to a little girl named olive. oprah winfrey tops this year's "forbes" list of highest paid women earning $165 million between may 2011 and may 2012. and finally, taylor swift. she is telling her ex john mayer is being presumptuous by thinking the song "dear john" is about him. in june mayer told "rolling stone" that that song was cheap and humiliating. it's always a clue when the name is in the song. did he date a lot of johns? >> i don't know. >> i think she needs to have

somebody else write her songs. >> you're a little sour on taylor swift. she's the innocent one. >> don't kiss and tell, taylor. >> this comes from a new york dog hotel. four-legged guests reside in rooms with plush beds, flat screen tvs. so many amenities with this. check this out. personal chefs, large playrooms, even a doggy spa that features a podicure. dog owners are sparing no expense. booking a room could cost up to $200 a night. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

one performer in china is really taking his act to the edge. not impressed by regular tight rope walkers? a performer at a chinese festival decided to climb a 65 foot knife barefoot. why not, right? the blade is right there. it's razor sharp and weighs a whopping 6,000 pounds. and because walking on a knife just isn't enough, the performer also did a handstand on the blade. well, in australia thrill seekers have figured out a way to tackle air and water all at the same time. it's a mix between a jet ski and a jet pack and it looks awesome. the fly board allowed users to dive under water then shoot up 32 feet in the air. a kevlar hose that pumps the water keeps it aloft and then riders use their hands and feet to stabilize and control the device. but it is not cheap. one fly board costs about $12,000. well, finally in canada, talk about reeling in the big one.

a group of 30 anglers out for a team building trip pulled aboard a 1,000 pound sturgeon. the crew scans the 11'8" creature and found that it had not previously been tagged, so they dubbed it the virgin sturgeon. get it? >> i do. >> very creative. before releasing the fish the team members did get a chance to pose along their once-in-a-lifetime catch so that they all have a new facebook. >> i don't fish as much as you do but is it common now to carry a scanner? >> to reel in 1,000 pound fish? to carry a scanner? no, probably not. we just go with a ruler, you know? >> how long was the fish? scan it. well, it's time for now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. some political momentum could be on the line in pennsylvania today when a judge rules whether to keep all of the state's tough new voter i.d. law intact. today's decision follows two days of testimony last week arguing that some requirements were making it difficult for registered voters to get a state issued i.d.

the world's famous hollywood sign is getting a makeover. a ten-week project to strip down and repaint the sign's giant letters will begin today ahead of its 90th birthday today. happy birthday to rocker sting. he turns 61. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and more as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. a live report on hollywood's reaction to the announcement that seth mcfarland is hosting the academy awards. and a live performance by a 12-year-old opera superstar. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com